Rockabilly Landslides and Electronic Close Calls: The Music Awards

In band polls, as in politics, it's all about getting out the vote.

Like many music critics, I am a sucker for lists. Call it an obsession with hierarchy, or call it residual boys-club behavior, a way of channeling the part of me that never got into sports as a kid. Of course, it's in the nature of polls to produce obvious winners: We all know who's popular. But the inaugural Seattle Weekly Music Awards produced some surprises, too.

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Surprise No. 1: Apparently, more Weekly readers care about Country/Rockabilly than any other style of pop music happening in townthat was the category most often filled out on the more than 4,000 ballots we received. Or maybe readers just really like the Dusty 45s: Second to poll champion Maktub (see accompanying story), the 45s got the highest number of points of any band anywhere in the poll (681), more than doubling the point total of runners-up the Donettes.

Clearly, the 45s got the vote outand indeed, urging fans to hand in ballots with their names checked off was undoubtedly key to at least a couple of other victories. Take the Hard Rock/Metal category. The Blood Brothers have a die-hard local fan base, as well as a higher degree of national recognition than any other band in their category, thanks to the critically acclaimed (by Spin and Alternative Press)